The Morning After: Last-Minute Contributions In Texas’ 2002 Primary Elections
II. The Morning After the Primary
| [ The Morning After: Last-Minute Contributions In Texas’ 2002 Primary Elections II. The Morning After the Primary |
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As already discussed, campaign contributions made in the last nine days of Texas political campaigns generally elude public scrutiny, while contributions made in the last 48 hours of an election cycle typically are not disclosed until months after an election is over. This report tracks 102 state candidates who faced contested primaries for statewide and district-based office on March 12, 2002 and who filed electronic disclosure reports on these campaigns. Twenty-two of these candidates are tracked a step further, through their primary runoff election on April 9, 2002.The 102 candidates studied here raised $18.7 million for their primary election, with $1.7 million (9 percent) eluding public scrutiny by flowing in the last nine days of the primary election.6 Of these late funds, $343,328 (20 percent) flowed in the last two campaign days, meaning that it typically was not reported until months after the election was over. The accompanying graph plots the daily amount of money that these candidates raised in the last 12 days of the 2002 primaries. Note that contributions begin shooting up on March 3, 2002, the first day that candidates began filing often-overlooked telegram reports. Another spike occurs the day before the election. Contributions made on that day typically are not disclosed at all until the next semi-annual report, which is not due until a couple of months after the election.
Top recipients
The 20 candidates who benefited the most from this late-flowing money (see table) received almost $1.2 million of it, or 69 percent of the total. The top four recipients of this money were senate candidates, headed by Senator Jeff Wentworth. Wentworth beat primary challenger John Shields by just 1,216 votes. The only other recipient of more than $100,000 in late money was Bill Ratliff, who became lieutenant governor in the reshuffling that followed George W. Bush’s ascension to the White House.7 After Ratliff came two House members seeking a senate promotion: Reps. Kim Brimer and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa.
Note: S = Senate, SC = Supreme Court, DJ = District Judge, Com = Commissioner, H = House.
Primary's Top 20 Morning-After Candidates Candidate All Primary
Money RaisedLast-9-Day
MoneyLast-9-Day
Money (%)Party Office
(Dist.)Share of
Vote (%)Jeff Wentworth 18% R S-25 51% Bill Ratliff 28% R S-1 70% Kim Brimer 16% R S-10 63% Juan Hinojosa 18% D S-20 *43% Elizabeth Ray 15% R SC *43% Xavier Rodriguez 10% R SC 47% Wallace Jefferson 10% R SC 62% Sandra Watts 50% D DJ-117 57% Kenn George 9% R Land Com 43% Kyle Janek 8% R S-17 66% Craig Estes 7% R S-30 58% Dale Wainwright 25% R SC *31% Gary Polland 12% R S-17 34% Kip Averitt 6% R S-22 58% John H. Shields 9% R S-25 49% Tom Ramsay 25% D Ag Com 57% Mary Denny 34% R H-63 60% David Bernsen 5% D Land Com 62% Edmund Kuempel 9% R H-44 66% Brian McCall 15% R H-66 69% 13%
* Went into a runoff election.Judicial candidates also gobbled up enormous amounts of late money, led by Texas Supreme Court candidate Elizabeth Ray, who was defeated by Dale Wainwright in a runoff. Supreme Court incumbents Xavier Rodriguez and Wallace Jefferson also were major late-money recipients. Corpus Christi resident Sandra Watts was the sole district judge candidate to make the list. This judicial late money is particularly troubling since judicial candidates do not even file telegram reports, thereby assuring that their late money goes undisclosed until months after the polls close.
Of the top-20 overall recipients of late money, Watts was the most dependent on eleventh-hour contributions, which accounted for half of her primary war chest. Late money supplied 34 percent of the primary war chest of Rep. Mary Denny, the top House recipient of late money. Late money accounted for 28 percent of Ratliff’s war chest and 25 percent of the war chests of Wainwright and Agriculture Commissioner candidate Tom Ramsay.
Top donors
Given that eleventh-hour contributions elude pre-election scrutiny, it is interesting that the accompanying list of the top 12 sources of this money includes some controversial donors. Plaintiff lawyers account for two of the top five sources of late money (Mikal Watts and Nix Patterson & Roach). The No. 1 late donor is trial lawyer Mikal Watts, who gave a belated gift of $60,000 to his mom, judicial candidate Sandra Watts.The second largest source of late money, the Washington, D.C.-based Republican National State Elections Committee (RNSEC), gave $25,000 apiece to minority Texas Supreme Court incumbents Wallace Jefferson and Xavier Rodriguez. This money was controversial because party PACs do not usually pick sides in primary battles. The GOP may have weighed in this time to try to preserve racial and ethnic diversity on its statewide ticket.
* Top recipients were Averitt, Brimer, Galloway & Ratliff at $5,000 apiece.
Primary's Top Morning-After Contributors Donor City Interest Amount Top Recipient Mikal Watts Corpus Plaintiff lawyer Sandra Watts GOP Nat'l State Elections Com. Washington GOP Jefferson/Rodriguez Tigua Indian Reservation El Paso Gambling Hinojosa/Wentworth TX Medical Assoc. Austin Doctors Jeff Wentworth Nix Patterson & Roach Daingerfield Plaintiff lawyers Tom Ramsay TX Aggregates & Concrete Assoc. Austin Concrete * TX Bell Employee PAC Austin Communications Kim Brimer TX Assoc. of Realtors Austin Real Estate William Ratliff Texans For Governmental Integrity San Antonio See Jim Leininger Mary Denny Douglas Hartman Austin Investments John Shields James Leininger San Antonio Hospital beds Ed Harrison Texas Mortgage Bankers Houston Home Loans Brimer/Ratliff Other major controversial donors of late money include the Tigua Indian Reservation (which has fought legal battles with the state over its casinos), the Texas Aggregates and Concrete Association (concrete interests have upset their neighbors with toxic air emissions),8 and James Leininger along with his PAC Texans for Governmental Integrity. Leininger founded Kinetic Concepts, Inc. to make hi-tech hospital beds that rotate to prevent bedsores. FDA accident reports and private lawsuits suggest that the rotating beds also have injured nurses and patients. This prompted Leininger to promote weaker business liability laws, despite the fact that his company is a plaintiff that has won some of the largest verdicts in Texas history.9
6 This report just tracks contributions of $100 or more.
7 Citing the pernicious role of money in politics, Ratliff abandoned a short-lived lieutenant governor campaign in June 2001, electing to seek his old senate seat instead.
8 “Lege May Put Cement Shoes On Concrete Industry’s Foes,” TPJ’s Lobby Watch, March 20, 2001.
9 “Bed Makers’ Case Awaits Jury Verdict,” San Antonio Express-News, September 26, 2002; “Huge Antitrust Verdict Against Hospital Bed Maker,” Texas Lawyer, October 7, 2002.
